Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs

In 1861, Harriet Jacobs became the first formerly enslaved African American woman to publish a book-length account of her life. In crafting her coming-of-age story, she insisted upon biographical accuracy and bold creativity--telling the truth while giving herself and others fictionalized names. She also adapted conventions from other popular genres, the sentimental novel and the slave narrative. Then, despite facing obstacles not encountered by Black men and white women, she orchestrated the book's publication and became a traveling bookseller in an effort to inspire passive Americans to support the abolition of slavery.

Engaging with the latest research on Jacobs's life and work, this edition helps readers to understand the magnitude of Jacobs's achievement in writing, publishing, and distributing her life story. However, it also shows how this monumental accomplishment was only the beginning of her contributions, given her advocacy work over the nearly forty years that she lived after its publication. As a survivor of sexual abuse who became an advocate, Jacobs laid a foundation for activist movements such as #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo. This edition also features six appendices, placing resources at readers' fingertips that further illuminate the issues raised by Jacobs's remarkable life and legacy.

Harriet Jacobs was a writer of African descent. Her master sexually harassed her when she was born into slavery in Edenton, North Carolina. As he threatened to sell her children, she took refuge in a cramped hole beneath her grandmother's roof, where she couldn't even stand. She eventually made it to New York, where she was reunited with her children Joseph and Louisa Matilda, as well as her brother John S., after seven years there.